My Summer of Cycling II
I wrote a long entry last summer about how my cycling had improved over the summer. It is time for an update and things continue to change. My bike log tells part of the story. I started riding in April and immediately got out 4 to 5 days a week and was quickly doing about 50 miles a week.
I attended a meeting in Aspen, Colorado in June. Colorado appears to be the home of some very serious cyclists. As I mentioned in this entry, I was amazed when I saw people cycling over Independence Pass. I am not up to anything like that, but I did rent a bike and ride down the valley. It was almost all downhill leaving Aspen, so when I hit the 16 mile marker after an hour, I decided I had better turn around and start slogging back up the hill. It took 90 minutes to get back. There was a prediction of thunderstorms, and I saw lightening in the distance, so I pushed myself pretty hard on the way back. The bike I rented was a hybrid that leaned more toward a mountain bike than my own. It had a front shock absorber and it tended to bounce when I pedaled hard. The trail was about 2/3 paved and 1/3 packed dirt. Considering the trail, the bike, and the altitude I was impressed by my performance. When I turned in the bike, the guy who ran the bicycle shop asked me why I was breathing so hard. So much for being impressed by myself.
A friend who rides seriously has been giving me tips, and he encouraged me to buy a new bike. I looked a a Trek 7300FX which is a hybrid like my bike, but it is lighter and the tires are narrower. It seemed like I could ride faster and longer on it. I could not find one in my size in town and rather than order one, I decided to wait. I spoke to several more people who are serious riders, and I decided to bite the bullet and buy a road bike. I bought a Trek 1000c which is a "comfort" road bike. The two concessions to comfort are handlebars that are adjustable and can be raised up and back toward the rider. The other is a very slightly padded seat.
The new bike is clearly faster. It is lighter and the gears seem more aggressive. Within a week I was going farther and faster. I keep exploring the area and looking for new routes to ride. The roads the radiate into and out of Frederick tend to have a lot of traffic, but some of them have broad shoulders. That roads that cross the radial ones are much more lightly traveled. I have put together a couple of different rides so I do not get bored,and my average evening ride is now 16-18 miles compared to last year's 11-12 miles rides. Mt. Phillips is very up and down and quite steep in places. I hit 42 mph going down one of the hills the other day. Opussomtown is very quiet and pleasantly rolling. It goes up and down but is not as steep.
I decided that I should try to join a group ride. The local bike club, Frederick Pedalers has a variety of rides and one looked like it would be right for me. It leaves from an elementary school well north of town at 6:00 PM. They promised to not leave anyone behind. I took a day off, so I could get ready and leave from home in time. I woke sick that day wasting a vacation day. I tried again two weeks later. I got there 15 minutes late and it was raining when I got there,so there no ride anyway. On the third try I left work at 4:30 PM, and I just made it to the ride. There were three guys there. All had nicer bikes than me, but I held up just fine. We did 32 miles in just over 2 hours. It was a wonderful ride. The roads were very quiet with very few cars. We were able to ride two abreast for much of the ride. The pace was something I can usually handle for an hour, but I was surprised that I kept it up for two whole hours. I think that the other riders were better a setting a steady pace than I am. They stayed in the middle gears more than I tend to, and they tended to coast downhill, while I like to see how fast I can go.
I will try to go on that ride every week, and despite Erin's objections I am going to have to buy bicycle shorts. My shorts kept getting caught on the seat or all bunched up the farther we rode.
What would summer be without the Tour de France? I added the next tier to my cable package in order to get OLN, which covers the Tour. My favorite day was in the Pyrenees where Hincapie managed to win a stage. To celebrate the Tour I decided to up my weekly mileage. Luckily I had just gotten my new bike. I did 98 miles the first week and 112 the second week. Both were new personal bests. It is the middle of the third week as I write and I have ridden 64 miles. Another 100 mile week looks doable.